The Separate Spheres of Online Health: Gender, Parenting, and Online Health Information Searching in the Information Age

In: Journal of family issues, Volume 33, Issue 10, p. 1324-1350

Abstract

The objective of this article is to explore how parental status, gender, and their interaction influence a variety of aspects of searching for online health information. Drawing on nationally representative survey data, the results show that in a number of ways parenting and gender have separate but significant influences on the following: online searching behavior, whether the information is used, and feelings about the information obtained. The authors found that although female parents are more likely than male parents to put the health information they have found online into use, parenting and sex have more independent than combined effects. This is particularly the case regarding whether respondents search for information for themselves or others, their feelings about the information found, and the process of finding online health information.